I had just finished my workout yesterday morning and was preparing my smoothie and meals for the day when I had this thought come into my mind about the importance of moving your body and water movement.

One of the things my training has taught me over the years is how important it is to move your body in all the different ranges of motion that it can possibly move. The saying “Use it or lose it” has a lot of truth behind it.

Moving the body not only exercises the muscles and cardio-vascular system, it affects the nervous system, the lymphatic system and the many other systems that make up your body. Movement helps all the fluids that travel through your body to actually travel, to do their job to provide energy and nutrients to the various cells, grow new cells like muscle and bone, heal and repair them, remove dead cells and other waste, filter it and eliminate it.

Then I started to think about how important water is to us. The U.S. Geological Survey says up to 60% of the human adult body is water (Link to Info Click Here) and shares the following information:

According to H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%.

Each day humans must consume a certain amount of water to survive. Of course, this varies according to age and gender, and also by where someone lives. Generally, an adult male needs about 3 liters per day while an adult female needs about 2.2 liters per day. Some of this water is gotten in food.

Water serves a number of essential functions to keep us all going:

A vital nutrient to the life of every cell, acts first as a building material.

It regulates our internal body temperature by sweating and respiration

The carbohydrates and proteins that our bodies use as food are metabolized and transported by water in the bloodstream;

It assists in flushing waste mainly through urination

acts as a shock absorber for brain, spinal cord, and fetus

forms saliva and

lubricates joints

Have you ever noticed how, for the most part the water in a flowing stream is clear and you can see it moving?

Have you also ever noticed how a pond where the water doesn’t move becomes stagnant and clouded with algae growing in it? Insects and other critters take up residence and breed. Sometimes it smells bad.

Since we’re made up of so much water doesn’t it make sense that if we move and keep the fluids flowing and changing that we’ll remain “cleaner” on the inside? Could we also say that if we don’t move, the fluids in our bodies could become “stagnant” and make a nifty place for “critters” to take up residence? (Ever wonder where the expression “He caught a bug” to say someone has a cold came from? Just sayin’.)

It’s important to move. Keep the body moving and keep the fluids moving too. Become the flowing stream – That’s my Zen Master moment for the day. ;-D